Sonic Satori -
50/50's Soundtrack Strikes an Emotional Chord,
and the Film is Damn Good as Wellby
Michael Mercer

I was typing feverishly
on my laptop, trying to complete my CES 2012 report,
when my wife thought I needed a break, so she picked
out this film on Redbox (if you don't already know
about Redbox, check it out—a killer source of $1.00
a night Blu Ray rentals). The film is entitled
50/50. The cast sounded great (Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick) and
when I found out the movie was directed by the same
genius behind the film The Wackness and HBO
series How to Make it in America, I said
let's go for it. Usually I don't stop when
inspiration hits (remember, I was bangin' away on my
laptop, attempting to finish my upcoming CES
article) and I had been experiencing a serious case
of writers block beforehand (many people think it's
an excuse, but I assure you that is not the case
with this writer unfortunately). Despite my desire
to finish the CES piece I chose to step away from it
for a bit and I am thankful I did. I'm even more
thankful for the never-failing, excellent intuition
of Alexandra, my wonderful wifey!

The plot seemed
interesting: A twenty-six year old (who happens to
be an old school radio enthusiast) is in good health
and living a dream life in Seattle with his
seemingly perfect, artistic girlfriend, while
working for NPR. It seems he's got everything
together when he receives the shocking news that he
has cancer of the spine. That blueprint, coupled
with a great cast and an utterly engaging and
appropriate soundtrack, made for an excellent film
experience. I haven't felt this connected to a movie
with regard to its cinematic and sonic experience
since we saw Once (the film that introduced
The Swell Season to the world, subsequently granting
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova their first Grammy
Award).

To be clear: I graduated
from high school in 1994, so when Anna Kendrick,
playing the therapist attempting to help Joseph
Gordon-Levitt's character, missed a Doogie Howser
reference (she plays a twenty-four year old in
the film) we knew we were watching a movie made by,
(for lack of a better classification) fellow Gen-Xers.
Now, to give you an idea of how much we enjoy
communicating with other people who understand our
collective angst and jaded thoughts: My wife and I,
when meeting people younger than us, often ask if
they are born 'post E.T The Extra Terrestrial
or 'pre E.T. The Extra Terrestrial' in order
to establish a baseline of their personal historical
references! Call us crazy, but there is just
something about being able to relate to a complete
stranger on a level that is almost beyond
description. The movies allowed us to experience
this sensation through an artist's expression, and
sometimes that expression manifests as film, which
often combines both the visual and auditory elements
so well it becomes the kind of art that truly
separates great from the mediocre. It's when you
experience this that a film is truly able to not
only capture, but express the societal temperament
of an era. Think about it: When you're watching an
old film, one that you relate to strongly, what
you're experiencing is one era speaking to another.

50/50 conjured up
these feelings in Alexandra and me. All of the
characters exhibited behaviors that reminded us of
somebody we knew (or of situations in our lives) and
the music played throughout was a brilliant
combination of new and classic tunes, some pulled
from the soul of great, early-nineties music (the
birth and death of both new wave and grunge). We'd
later classify most of the music on this soundtrack
as alternative, but only because it was truly that
at the time—until 'alternative' became just another
homogenized term abused by commercial interests.
Here you have Radiohead's 'High and Dry' from The
Bends, and Pearl Jam's 'Yellow Ledbetter' off
their quintessential Vitalogy record.
Peppered throughout the film are also classics like
the Bee Gees 'To Love Somebody' and Roy Orbison's
'Crying'. The music (and the crew behind the
programming and selections thereof) did a tremendous
job of capturing the emotional energy behind the
intense moments of 50/50.

The performances of the
actors also play a key role in striking the
emotional chords of the audience, and everybody
stepped up to the plate. Seth Rogen even flexed his
dramatic muscles here (yes, the man does indeed have
skills). Here he absorbed the role, and when you're
acting alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt you better
have chops. Angelica Huston also played a refreshing
role outside her typical range of overtly eccentric
characters (no fault of her own I'm sure, that's
what's you get when you play such a convincing
member of TheAddams Family). Frankly,
I don't want to get too caught up in explaining the
actual plot of the movie. I'm no film critic, and
often I think they give away too much of the story
anyway, so I stuck to the music, and its impact on
us while we laughed and cried throughout this flick.
Check it out if any of this sounds like something
you can relate to. I give it my highest
recommendation.

I also have to express
my sincere thanks to the author of the
Reelsoundtrack Blog. I searched on the internet for
a way to purchase the 50/50 soundtrack, and
apparently it isn't available yet (or I missed it).
Reelsoundtrack Blog posts links (Youtube and
others) to songs off soundtracks they enjoy (I think
this is their mission anyway). The site looks like
an honest labor of love (and there's nothing illicit
about it, everything just streams, and the links are
from other websites).
HERE's a link to their list of tracks from this
soundtrack.

Please get it in
gear producers of 50/50! There's plenty of us jaded
Gen-Xers waiting to get our hands on a physical copy
of your soundtrack!